Wilson may have gone from the Champions League to the Championship, but Forest’s £2.5m capture from Celtic is adamant he’s not taken a step down on his return to the City Ground.

The defender claimed a brace of SPL titles and a Scottish Cup during his two years north of the border, and was also part of the side which memorably put Lionel Messi’s Barca to the sword.

But the 27-year-old has happily stepped back into the gruelling second tier of English football after returning to his native Nottingham for family reasons.

After helping maintain Forest’s 100 per cent start by sealing back-to-back clean sheets on his second Forest debut, Wilson has no regrets at forsaking dream nights at the Nou Camp for run-ins at Reading and ding-dongs at Derby.

He loves the cut and thrust of the Championship and said: “I know people talk about ­Barcelona, this game and that game, but I’m loving being back at Forest. At Celtic we constantly ­dominated every game because, well, it’s Celtic.

“Here it’s more even and you have top quality players and top quality teams and every game is going to be a battle.

“Looking back and trying to pick a spell I enjoyed the most, even though I played in the Champions League with Celtic, I would have to say it was my first spell here that was the most memorable.

“So it’s great to be back and I wouldn’t have left Celtic for just any club.”

“Here it’s more even and you have top quality players and top quality teams and every game is going to be a battle.”

Kelvin Wilson

An assured rearguard action looked like earning a vital point, until striker Darius Henderson ensured Forest snatched all three with a predatory stoppage-time finish after keeper Jake Kean fumbled the ball under pressure from sub Jamie Mackie.

Blackburn-born Matt Derbyshire came close to scoring after coming off the bench against his old club, who are without a win in their first three games and struggling to shake off the hangover of their troubled 2012-13 season.

Stunned boss Gary Bowyer almost fell off his chair when he was asked afterwards if he felt under pressure with the new campaign just a week old.

But given Rovers have had four managers in the last 12 months maybe it wasn’t such a daft query.

Bowyer said: “I thought it was a funny question. But then again, this is a funny club.”

The watching contingent from owners Venky’s no doubt want answers about the winless start to the season – which includes a humiliating Capital One Cup exit to Carlisle.

Derbyshire takes no pleasure from Rovers’ plight, and the Forest striker said: “I’m a Blackburn fan, I love the club and I always will.

“You hear whispers but you don’t tend to know what’s going on at a club unless you’re a part of it. I’ve not been a part of it at Blackburn for many years, so I’m not really sure what’s been happening.”

Rovers winger Alan Judge said: “Our fans will be disappointed, but they know we’re trying our best. There’s a good energy in the team.

“Our spirit is superb, but this is a new team and it is going to need time to adapt.

“When we do forge that ­understanding then I think we can do well this season.”